No day the same working at museum
Name: Charlotte Neilson (32)
Occupation: Otago Museum marketing manager
Q
What jobs did you do before this one?
Born in Timaru, I now live in Outram, and have lived in Dunedin most of my life, attending Columba College and Otago Polytechnic.
I’ve been at the Otago Museum for just over six months. Before this, I was the marketing manager at Meridian Mall, and, earlier, was the marketing and events manager at the Otago Racing Club for several years.
Q
Why did you choose this job?
I have always had a bit of thing for the Otago Museum because I was raised in Otago, so it was an opportunity to put my skill set to use at a special place I’ve enjoyed right through my childhood.
Q
How did you get into it and when?
I was already working in marketing and wanted the chance to improve my skills, and take on a bigger challenge.
Q What qualifications and training did you need?
A tertiary degree is helpful, including in commerce.
I have a bachelor’s degree in applied management, sales and marketing, from Otago Polytechnic, and a postgraduate diploma in event management from the Southern Institute of Technology.
Q
What personal skills do you need?
To be a successful marketing manager, you need to have the ability to adapt, to understand the optimal end result, the anticipated target audience, and engage with them accordingly.
Q Any physical requirements?
No specific requirements, but it helps from an event management viewpoint if you’re on the fitter side.
Q What is the most challenging aspect of working in a museum that has more than 1.5 million objects, ranging from ‘‘Greek pots to taxidermied animals’’, and what do on a daily basis?
Organisation and communication are the biggest priority in my role. Having strategies in place to ensure individual promoting of the galleries, the events, the programmes and the exhibitions is paramount. I like to meet with other department managers either weekly or fortnightly, to discuss anything that might have popped up or what might be in the pipeline, so that I can write a full marketing plan to suit.
I certainly underestimated how much goes on here before working at the museum, and with over 130 staff and a dozen different internal and external departments and projects, having a high level of organisation is
imperative.
Whether it’s sending out our weekly electronic bulletin, producing one of our weekly What’s On Guides, increasing awareness or engagement via social media, managing the media, writing press releases, blogging, content writing, putting up billboards, no day here is ever the same.
Q What is the most interesting assignment you’ve had?
At the moment we’re working with Nasa. We’ve got Colonel Michael Watkins, a Nasa astronaut, coming over from America, who will be at the museum early next month. It’s pretty cool being able to work directly with Nasa’s marketing team and a reallife astronaut.
Q How has the job changed since you started?
Everything is evolving and changing, nothing stays the same.
Q What are the highs of the job?
When you’ve got strategy in place, such as for the opening of the redeveloped science centre, the Tuhura Otago Community Trust Science Centre, and you see the hard work paying off then, and when ticket sales are through the roof.
Q
What are the lows of the job?
It’s a catch 22, I like to be busy, but high workload can be challenging to handle.
The lucky thing is we have a very supportive team at the museum and we help each other out.
Q What’s the strangest thing you’ve had to do?
That was when ODT photographer and illustrations editor Stephen Jaquiery made me stick my head in a giant Permian monster for a photo shoot, just three days into my tenure. I certainly wasn’t expecting it, not to mention the fact it made the front page!
Q
You also do voluntary work for racing clubs, specifically the Waikouaiti Racing Club and Oamaru Harness Racing Club. Why?
I have a passion for racing. My fiance Daniel Scoles and I breed, own
and race thoroughbred racehorses. One of my hobbies is managing smallto mediumsize racing syndicates. It has been great to inject some fresh blood into the industry.
Between us, Daniel and I have three boys, Nieko (8), Harry (7) and Charley (6), as well as a couple of horses, two dogs, three cats, and four chickens.
I love merging my passion for marketing and event management with horse racing. It’s such a reward seeing the public engaging in the sport, particularly when there are kids involved. They are the future generation that will be taking over the reins.
Q
What is the salary?
Marketing manager incomes vary widely in the cultural and museum sector, often from $50,000 to about $90,000.
Q
Where will you be 10 years from now?
I’ll still be in Dunedin, which is my home, so I’d like to grow my career here, and watch our children grow up.